The Falling Leaves
by bleachedserenity
Summary: When Sasuke attempt to leave, Shikamaru is chosen to lead a team of genin to bring back their comrade. Naruto ends up fighting Tayuya and things go a bit overboard when Kyuubi gets involved. NarutoxTayuya Lemon and Cursing
1. First Encounter

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any characters in this fanfic. I'm just a lazy-assed teenager who likes to write. Please don't sue, I have no money nor do I make any from doing this.

Summary: Shikamaru is knocked out by Tayuya and Naruto is forced to deal with her. Unfortunately, Kyuubi gets involved.

A/N: I tried to keep the characters in character as much as possible but I wasn't entirely sure about Tayuya's personality so if it's wrong, deal with it or tell me about it. Also, I tried to keep it canon as much as possible, except you know for the sex between Naruto and Tayuya, but I based it off the manga.

**First Encounter**

"Hey, quit babbling senseless things! Give Sasuke back!" Naruto roared at Kiminaro before receiving a swift punch from Tayuya. Kiminaro bent down and whispered something barley audible into her ear.

Moments later, he disappeared, carrying Sasuke's body in the coffin. "We need to get past her to save Sasuke!" Naruto attempted to explain to Shikamaru.

"Don't you think I know that, dumbass!" replied a slightly flustered Shikamaru. "Ahhhh…"

"Hey, what's your problem?" asked his half-interested team mate. "You need to come up with a plan!"

"Hang on; my leg was hurt in the aftermath of the explosion." A couple of minutes ago, Akamaru and Kiba set up a trap that unfortunately backfired, sending them down a ledge along with Ukon. "Ahh… Okay, I might be able to put some weight on it. There." His view was affected by the involuntary wince from the pain. "Alright, I'm going to attack her head on while you try to get past by jumping in the air and making her think you'll attack form above. You ready?"

"Yeah," was the simple replay from the blonde shinobi. "Let's go!"

"It's two on one! We've got the advantage on you! Go Naruto!"

Shikamaru landed on a small branch just before charging forward but the pain was worse and his timing was off. Tayuya instantly picked up on the plan and grabbed Naruto by the leg and dragged him from the air, tossing him into the delayed Shikamaru. "Ow, damn it Naruto, move!" he breathed before crashing into the tree behind with the weight of two bodies. The sudden winding and growing pain in his leg caused the chunin to lose consciousness. "Uhh…" he slowly sighed before slipping away from reality.

"Shikamaru! Shikamaru! Get your lazy ass up, we're in the middle of a fight and we need to get Sasuke. Get up!" Naruto's eager words were no use and he had to still deal with Tayuya. "Damn it!"

"Kuchiyose no jutsu," the words echoed in the quiet forest as three massive demonic men were summoned in a cloud of smoke. "I'll play a melody of death for you." The tune was dreary and dark, causing the fine hairs to stick up on Naruto's skin. Suddenly, all three demons rushed forward to attack the lone shinobi.

"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no jutsu," Naruto cried his signature move, hoping to buy enough time to escape and hunt down the white-haired guy who took Sasuke. Each clone rushed forward to divert the gaze of each impending creatures but one by one, each clone disappeared in a cloud of white smoke. "Damn," the young shinobi thought, "If I get caught up here, Sasuke will cross the border of the Fire Country and I'm screwed," he jumped underneath a branch and nearly sailed to freedom when a large hand tugged his ankle down and left him hanging before the angered Sound-nin with a flute.

"Why are you pieces of trash so desperate to save one person? I've already taken down your leader and the rest of your team is dead! You dick-heads didn't have a chance to begin with and now Sasuke-sama is being delivered to Orochimaru-sama. Why did your village sacrifice an entire genin team just for one ninja? You dumbasses should all just die already!" Tayuya's voice grew louder at the Konoha shinobi dangling just inches away.

"Enough!" Naruto's voice grew deeper and even louder to silent his interrogator, "Sasuke is a friend and a comrade of mine. He is a leaf shinobi and we have fought together, side by side. He was also one of the only people who dragged me form the painful misery of being alone and he has been put through it himself. We are comrades, dammit! We risk our lives for each other, that is the way of the leaf!" The silence grew while Naruto was forced to recall the memories of being hated and being cast aside because he was the container of the Kyuubi. The pain nearly brought tears to his eyes, but the memories were forgotten almost instantly when he attempted to break free from his hold. Slowly, his eyes turned from the bright blue to an ominous crimson.

"_**Kit, let me help yo**__u! __**We can win, just remove the seal temporarily and I can catch up to Sasuke! That is what you want, right?"**_The demon fox taunted at Naruto's conscious mind more and more, attempting to whittle away his being.

"No, just lend me more chakra, I'll get out of here on my own," the harsh reply echoed in the empty sewer of Naruto's mind.

"_**I don't want to die kit, if you start fucking up, I'm taking over!" **_The pool of darkness spilled out from beyond the cage's bars and encircled the lone boy, filling his body with power.

"Hey fuckup!" The cruel voice brought Naruto back to reality just long enough to see its owner bring a flute to her mouth. The tune was eerie and soon the world faded out to a point where Naruto was sitting in an empty field, tied up, where his body slowly started to melt away. The Kyuubi's chakra dispelled the genjutsu almost instantly and knocked the red head back.

"What are you?" she called out in disbelief. His movements were quick as he appeared behind her to respond "A leaf ninja." A fist filled with evil chakra pushed her forward into a tree. She got up and began to let out another song when the glowing boy rushed up and tackled her. Quickly, the glowing settled down and the chakra began to dissipate. He was lying on top of the enraged kunoichi, but at the moment she seemed to be dizzy. The raw power was going away some but the primal urges remained and soon began to take over. Naruto reached out and began to claw at her top like a starving man with a loaf of bread. Apparently Kyuubi had been lusting for sex and now was his opportunity after twelve and a half long years.

His hands moved expertly across her skin and found her nipple. Slowly he kneaded it in his fingers until the dazed girl looked up as if coming out of a deep trance. The pink flesh hardened between his fingers and his mouth made its way to gently suck on it. "What the fuck do you think you're doing, you asshole, get-," her outburst was cut short by his warm lips closing in around her tit, sucking affectionately on it. The brief moment of pleasure forced her to lose control of the summoned demons as they poofed away from the forest. Her mind refocused long enough to scream out once more but was abruptly stopped by a low growl. The transformation was subtle, but the Kyuubi's power had made Naruto slightly more animalistic.

He made his way to her pants and she wanted to protest but the feeling from him just suck her nipple was more than she could believe. She needed to fight back but the growing temptation was so demanding. His tongue snaked out and found her slit, growing wetter by the moment. One lap and she moaned quietly to herself, another and she bent her head back, and a third caused her entire body to arch up to his touch. "Uhhhhh," was soon the only response he received from her drunken state of pleasure. This process continued for several more minutes until his tongue flicked her clit. Her scream was loud and laced with passion.

"_**See kit, I told you I could get us out of here,"**_the fox gloated.

"What the hell are you talking about, we are still here and Sasuke is getting farther and farther away.

"_**Yeah, but we are still several kilometers away from the border right? You might as well enjoy this bitch while you can."**_

"But we need to bring back Sasuke back to Sakura-chan and Tsunade-baachan!"

"_**Dumbass, we have plenty of time and why are you so hung up on him? Wait… You're gay for him, aren't you?"**_

"Damn you, Kyuubi, he is the same as me, a Konoha ninja. And I'm not gay, you prick!"

"_**Prove it by fucking this bitch, and then we can go. You know you want to, go ahead, it'll be fun. You are still a virgin, but the feeling is amazing. Trust me," **_even with the sadistic smile gleaming from behind the prison bars, Naruto couldn't help to do it for him.

"Ahhhhhhhhh…" was the welcoming reply as Naruto continued to drive his tongue deeper into Tayuya's pussy. "Don't stop, you little bastard! Make me come, now!" The libido had returned and Naruto brought her to near orgasm once more. He waited a second and then brought a single finger up to rub her pussy lips while he flicked her clit with his tongue again. She came in an explosive orgasm, nearly covering Naruto's mouth, but he made little work of cleaning up the mess.

"Now me," he said, reaching for his pants. "Come over here and suck me off, now." His voice was more demanding and fierce than he wanted it to be, but he saw her body move in response. He still couldn't decide if it was out of fear or retribution for making her cum like that.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," she thought more and more of what would happen if she did something wrong. "He broke my genjutsu with pure chakra and I was in curse seal level one. He was even holding back it felt like. Shit, what if he comes after me at full power, what the hell am I supposed to do?" The silence grew inside her mind so she steadily moved towards the boy before her. The crimson eyes had been calmed and were once again a deeper and more soothing blue. She could see how desperate he was for this, having been deprived of attention for most of his life. The pity grew and Tayuya felt slightly saddened at the thought of being completely alone. It was incredible he wasn't like one from Sunagakure.

She grabbed his shaft and was shocked at the feeling of it in her hands. It seemed to contain more chakra and heat than humanly possible. Her hesitant tongue made its way to the base as she brought it up to the tip. She had never seen a real man's penis, except for all the hentai Kidomaru kept around the base. She didn't entirely hate the taste either; it was salty, probably from being restrained in hot pants all day. She brought her lips up to the head and put her mouth over it, pausing before bringing it down completely. "Ahhhruhhhh…" was the single response and she guessed it was okay to continue.

Her red hair moving up and down was very arousing to Naruto who couldn't help but relax some. The demon even seemed to quiet down as well. He loved feeling her hot mouth wrapped around his cock and wanted to stay like this, her tongue constantly gliding up and down his shaft. However the feeling in his balls told him he was almost on the edge, "Hey, I'm almost about to cum." He warned in a stern voice but neglected to give instructions for what she needed to do. She pulled out all but two inches from her mouth and began to tease the head lightly. His tone and command had been turning her on as well and she couldn't hide the growing wetness from between her thighs.

One rope of cum came into her mouth and she instinctively swallowed. Another rope of hot cum splashed down her throat, coating her tongue in the gooey substance on along the way. The taste was different but not too bad. Three more spurts continued after that, gushing out the corners of her mouth, sliding down her chin. Naruto was still in the midst of cumming when he looked down at the attractive girl, attempting to swallow all of his semen. He couldn't help but stifle a grin at the beautiful sight in between his legs.

"_**See, wasn't that awesome? And the best part is yet to come. Now grab her arms and push your dick deep into her pussy."**_His teethe showed through his smile as the Kyuubi attempted to persuade him to go further. His eyes almost demanding he continue before he was forced to take control.

"Shut up, I'm not some pervert like you and ero-sennin. I'm doing this my way." The cold insult quieted the Kyuubi once more as he too prepared for the sex.

Naruto picked himself up and began to position himself at her opening. Tayuya screamed out "No, its bad enough I had to blow you, I'm not letting you fuck me. Now get off, damn it," her voice was hiding her want of continuing, but he was the enemy and they were supposed to be back at the base a while ago.

"No," he could see her lust in her eyes and he hadn't even masturbated in a while. They both wanted this to happen, neither could deny that. He pressed his cock into her slowly, almost anticipating another outburst, but heard none. He felt the wall of flesh blocking his way and was unsure of what to do. He pressed a little harder and broke the blockade, stopping as he heard her whimpering. "Are you alright," his voice was calm and sincere, unlike earlier.

"Yeah, it hurts a lot though," her voice was equally calm and without the angry and fear-inducing tone from earlier. She continued after a moment, "It's feeling better now, go ahead." He began moving at a steady rate until all seven and a half inches were in. The feeling was unbelievable. A combination of heat, sweat, anger and pleasure made the moment even better.

"_**Yes kit, that's it, now do it harder, you pansy-assed dipshit."**_The Kyuubi's voice grew impatient from being ignored for the last five minutes._**"Ram into her now, kit. Quit this lame, annoying pace and actually fuck her!"**_

Naruto began moving faster, enjoying the feeling of the tight walls around him as his cock slid effortlessly in and out of her lubricated pussy. He moaned along with Tayuya, who was sitting back, enjoying being controlled by some dumbass brat. "Yeah, it feels amazing, don't stop, you dick-weed." Her voice continued to entice Naruto until he was pounding into pussy with a wet, slick sound at every movement. It had been almost twelve minutes of solid fucking and Naruto could tell he was close to cumming once more.

Tayuya was seconds away from orgasm and she was jamming her body into his cock at every possible second. She needed him in deeper. The two were moaning in unison as Naruto tried to hold off the torrent of cum that had built up since his blowjob. He saw her eyes roll back as her inner walls closed in around his shaft. She was cumming as her body arched to meet his. That and the heat were too much, his cock jerked as he pulled it out. Thick, white ropes of cum splattered on her stomach as he came. Naruto held himself up with one hand while the other was focused on his cock, rubbing it down from his orgasm. Tayuya had passed out from the euphoria of her cumming and he had barley enough strength to stand up.

His arms reached down for his clothes and gear, he needed to change. "It'd be bad if Shikamaru woke up during that. I guess that years of being a lazy bastard makes you a deep sleeper," Naruto thought to himself, putting on his pants. He looked down at Tayuya who was sleeping peacefully and decided to move her incase someone came looking for them. He was still on a mission after all. It took a couple of minutes to properly hide her, but he was soon back at where he left Shikamaru. The ninja was still asleep from being knocked out.

He felt as if everything had melted away, everything but… Sasuke! "Shit, he may have crossed the border now!"

"_**Don't worry kit, didn't you notice the guy that took him, he looked pretty worn down. I bet he has to stop a lot. We have plenty of time." **_Kyuubi attempted to hide his boyish grin but couldn't_** "You fucked her good, kit. Why didn't you let me have a little more fun though?"**_

"Because, damn it, you would have screwed it up. She's still human and you're some demon. Stop trying to guilt me for it, you had me do it in the first place." Naruto was oddly offended at the thought of anyone else touching her, even if it was still technically him.

"_**Aren't you at least glad I got you laid, you ungrateful brat? Hell, it would have taken you years to have a girl do anything like that to you. Quit bitching about it."**_

"Bastard, keep it quiet. Remember whose body you're in." That was the signal that the conversation had ended.

It still took Naruto a while to find the white-haired man, but shortly after he did, Lee came to let him continue on his way to capture Sasuke. The Valley of the End, as Kakashi called it, was the border of the Fire County. Naruto demanded that Sasuke return but even after granting Kyuubi near control, Naruto was defeated. He woke up in the Konoha hospital later, only to learn that Sasuke had defected himself fully from Konoha. Troubled as he was at this news, he couldn't help but feel somewhat happy at what had happened in the forest.

A/N: Okay, I edited this chapter some. Chapter 2 is up now. I think this might be three to four chapters unless I break even farther from the main storyline… Then I think it could very long. I don't know how I might continue on this, but I do like writing lemons. At least now know that. Oh and sorry for the long absence of updates, but I have at least one new chapter for all of my stories, even one I don't have up yet. I think I might stop this and then concentrate on my others for a while, and then possibly pick up on it again. If you like it, review.


	2. A Promise Broken

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto nor make any money off of writing this story.

A/N: I'm back with something new. Here is the second chapter. I'm not sure how many are in store but I do know that it will be a lot. I hope that my more frequent updates now will make up for the huge wait I made everyone go through. Read, review, enjoy.

Konohagakure no Sato – Village Hidden in the Leaves

Otogakure no Sato – Village Hidden in the Sound

Hitai-ate – Forehead Protector

Ten no Juin – Curse Seal of Heaven

Juin Jutsu – Curse Mark

**A Promise Broken**

"SASUKE!" Naruto roared as struck a fighting pose. "I can't let you go to Orochimaru. I can't lose you. Damn it Sasuke, why...? Why is power so important to you!? You can get stronger in Konoha, just come back!" Naruto pleaded with his friend. Both stood on the river that cut through the Valley of the End. Sasuke stood before Uchiha Madara, Naruto, Shodaime Hokage.

"You fool. Don't claim to understand me. I need power to kill _him_. He took everything from me, even if I must die, I will end Itachi's life. Until then, I must gain as much power as possible." The raven haired genin replied while releasing the Ten no Juin on his shoulder even further, allowing the black flames to flow over his flesh. He smiled wickedly at the orange clad ninja across the lake from him. He was only a nuisance. And nuisances needed to be dealt with.

"I have been alone too, dammit! I know what it's like! It's okay, just come back to Konoha. We can kill Itachi together."

"No! You never had bonds to begin with, you know nothing of what it's like to lose someone close. I officially cut all links to Konoha. I am done with that pathetic village. Now it's time to move on and grow stronger. And Orochimaru has promised me that which I seek.

"You're wrong. I may not have had friends or people I held dear like family before, but I do now. You, Sakura-chan, and Kakashi-sensei. We were like a family. And your leaving makes you no better than your brother."

Sasuke flashed through some handseals and held his wrist in his hand as white chakra poured into his arm. The chirping of a thousand birds echoed in the valley as the boy lunged at Naruto, jamming his Chidori in his shoulder. Naruto was thrown back into the water. He struggled to his feet and stared Sasuke in the eye as red chakra encased his body.

'His wound...it's healing so fast!' Sasuke thought as he prepared another attack. He then realized his only shot at victory. He released his seal, surrendering his body to the malevolent force that it contained. His black marks combined all over his skin, giving him the appearance having leather skin. Behind him two hand like wings rose and fell with the wind that howled in the water way.

Naruto rushed forward and threw a barrage of punches at his rival. All of his attacks were blocked by the wings that absorbed most of the damage. Naruto let more of his tenant's chakra out, giving him the appearance of a tail coming from the base of his spine. It swished dangerously behind him, taunting the Uchiha.

Naruto tried other attacks, none successful. As did Sasuke only to receive the same results. Both knew what came next. It was time for the last attack. Nartuo pulled out of range of his opponent to mold the chakra necessary. He crouched low on a rock as the ball of energy formed.

Sasuke raised his Chidori up and aimed himself at Naruto. He would make this attack count. There would be no healing after this.

"CHIDORI!"

"RASENGAN!"

Both boys ran towards each other. Their hands met and both techniques fought for dominance. Naruto pushed more into his Rasengan, but stopped. If he allowed it too much power, he could kill his friend. He had a promise to keep to Sakura. He wouldn't let her down. Unfortunately for him, Sasuke could care less if his ex-teammate was killed. As long as he received power, nothing mattered. And because of that, Sasuke's Chidori grew stronger still as more chakra was forced into it. A ball formed around them, stopping the waterfall that covered them with a cool shower.

Then, both were equal. To the pair of genin, it seemed as if time stood still. Sasuke knew he was risking death by holding on to his jutsu so long, but he could not lose. Not when he was so close to power. He pushed an extra ounce of power into his hand, just enough to disrupt the sphere around them. Taking this one chance, he plunged his hand deep in Naruto's chest, piercing his heart instantly. The balance of power had changed suddenly, causing the sphere to grow more unstable. Before it could break, Naruto gasped as his wound forced air from his lungs. He was taken off guard, and it cost him. He saw his chance to end it, he could throw his Rasengan into Sasuke's chest as well and be done. But he couldn't. He couldn't take his friend's life. Instead he swiped his chakra filled ball across Sasuke's hitai-ate. Then, the purple ball shattered, sending both in the opposite direction of each other.

The sound that followed was deafening. Neither stood, until Sasuke moved ever so slightly. He raised himself after straining his body up. Naruto was on a rock near the statue of the Hokage. He had a hole the size of a large grapefruit in his chest, allowing Sasuke to see through him. His breath was labored, if there was any at all.

Sasuke stood over his defeated rival, smirking. "I told you that you were only a dobe. There was no hope of bringing me back. I could finish you right here and gain the Mankeyou...but I won't. I will not do it his way. I'll become stronger myself. You are lucky, you should be dead now. At least you can go back to Konoha and continue your feeble existence. If you survive that is." Before he left, he thew his old hitai-ate next to the blonde. On it was a single scratch from his attack.

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Tayuya woke up groggily in the forest clearing. She was exhausted, but had this satisfied feeling. The red head grew angry suddenly, looking for the blonde that had practically raped her. But damn it felt good, she couldn't deny that.

She jumped up and redressed. Then Tayuya closed her eyes, searching for his chakra. If she found it, she would hunt him down and make him pay. A sudden spike in two evil powers rose several kilometers away. She recognized one as the red chakra she had dealt with earlier, but this time, it had to have been ten times stronger. It made the smallest hairs on the back of her neck rise in fear. 'He was holding back...a lot...when he fought me. Just how strong is this fucker?'

The other chakra felt similar to hers with her level two Juin Jutsu activated. Although it was untamed, it seemed powerful. She ran as fast possible in the direction. It was still her mission to escort Sasuke to Orochimaru.

She arrived just in time to see the cataclysmic fight come to an end. She saw Sasuke revert back into his normal form, then approach Naruto. Tayuya cautiously made her way to the river, approaching the avenger from behind. He tossed something down at the fallen genin then whirled around with a kunai in hand. Sasuke relaxed instantly when he saw her.

"How do I get to Otogakure from here?" he asked while breathing heavily.

"It's a distance from here, it'll take us the rest of the day, maybe more given your condition, Sasuke-sama."

"I'll be fine."

"I'll show you then, let's go," she replied while walking towards the wall of the valley. She looked back at what she thought was the corpse of one Uzumaki Naruto, feeling a small pang of sadness that he died by his friend's hand. And a bit of anger that it wasn't by her own. But since he lost, that meant that she and her boss won.

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Sasuke and Tayuya walked to the gate of Otogakure. She lifted her hand to signal a guard down. He appeared with a puff of smoke and looked at the two.

"Names and rank."

"Hanaki Tayuya of the Sound Four. Special Chuunin."

"Uchiha Sasuke."

The man immediately looked alarmed at this. Orochimaru had given each of them careful instruction to allow the Uchiha in the moment he arrived. The guard looked back at the man watching them from atop the village gate. He nodded and puffed away.

Before the pair of ninja, the massive gates opened, revealing a large city. Inside were tons of people going about their daily lives. From what the Sharingan wielder could tell, about two out of three people were ninja. Konoha barely had one in three.

After they entered and the door behind them closed, the same guard that left them a minute ago stood next to a pale faced man. He had piercing yellow eyes that mimicked those of a snake and an unnaturally colorless complexion. He smiled at the boy who just arrived and said aloud, "Everyone, this is Uchiha Sasuke. He, like me, is from Konohagakure no Sato. He is to be treated with the highest regard or else." All of the people behind him visibly tensed at this. They knew what their leader was capable of.

"Come Sasuke-kun. Let me show you around."

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Naruto awoke suddenly. His body ached, pain coursing throughout his chest with every breath. The same pain that lingered for days when he overused his demon's power. He craned his neck to see if anyone else was in the room, causing him to wince as if he were on fire. There was no one there next to him. Nor were there any cards or flowers next to his bed.

Naruto sighed as he closed his eyes to go back to sleep. Then he remembered the wound he received in battle. He moved his hand up and felt where he had been stabbed. In the center of his chest there was no scar. No marking. Nothing. You couldn't even tell he had someone's hand through him just a few days ago.

The Jinchuuriki sighed quietly to himself. There was nothing he could do now. All of his body screamed for rest. He kept his eyes closed and drifted off to sleep.

On the top of the roof of the hospital, Jiraiya sat. He felt his student's chakra flare up as he woke up then soften as he went to sleep. He sat there, monitoring Naruto's health, thinking of the best course of action.

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"Orochimaru-sama, may I speak with you please." Tayuya asked humbly as she approached his chair inside his office.

"What is it? I am busy trying to rebuild one of my best teams. You were the only one who survived that mission."

"That is it, Orochimaru-sama. I would like to request a mission."

"Go on," said the Otokage with a bored tone.

"From Sasuke-sama's report, it seems that Uzumaki Naruto is still alive. I would like to be given permission to hunt him down on an assassination mission."

"Hm...what brought this up?" Orochimaru replied with a hint of interest in his voice.

"I have a personal matter I would like to rectify. He also stands to pose a threat the sanctity of the village, Orochimaru-sama."

Orochimaru sat there behind his desk, weighing the options. Finally he spoke, "You know what happens if you fail, correct?"

Tayuya nodded in response.

"From what my informant has told me, Naruto-kun is leaving on a training trip soon according to the Hokage. You have two months. I expect you to return with a positive report. Dismissed."

The red head left and closed the door silently behind her. Kabuto appeared from the darkened corner of the office.

"Orochimaru-sama, why didn't you say that Naruto-kun would be traveling with Jiraiya of the sannin?"

"She is expendable. If somehow, she manages to kill Naruto-kun, then that will be fortunate. And if she is captured, then the Juin Jutsu I placed on her will activate and she will die immediately."

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama."

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"Naruto, how would you like to get stronger?" Jiraiya asked from atop a giant toad outside Naruto's hospital room.

Instantly the boy's eyes grew brighter. "You mean...You're gonna train me!? Yes!"

"Calm down. From what Tsunade told me, you can leave here tonight at the earliest. Meet me at the north gate at 8:00am tomorrow and we'll leave from there. I've already cleared it with her, so don't worry."

Naruto jumped from his bed, ignoring the pain that lingered in his limbs. "Why can't we leave now?"

"Don't you want to at least say goodbye to your friends first. Some of them are probably worried about you. Why not just relax some more and be better prepared in the morning?"

"Fine..." the Jinchuuriki grumbled.

Jiraiya had monitoring his progress over the last few days. He sensed the increase in the Kyuubi's chakra every day as it healed his organs. His body had been put through hell from that mission. All of his organs had suffered some serious damage and his heart had to be rebuilt. Had it not been for the Kitsune, he would have died the moment the Chidori struck. Of course the cause of his condition was kept secret, which only baffled the nurses.

Tsunade had to keep the demonic chakra from overloading in his body by constantly checking up on him and healing whatever she could. She was scared at the boy's condition when Kakashi ran into the main gates with him in his arms. By then the skin and muscle had regrown but the bone took some time to rebuild. At a casual glance, it could be written off as chakra depletion but she knew otherwise. She could tell something was wrong. Too much of the Kyuubi's chakra was being used for replenishing his reserves. It wasn't until she could run several tests on him that she discovered just what in Kami's name had happened.

Both of the sannin cared deeply for the boy. He looked at them like the parents he never knew, and they saw him as a child neither ever had. That was why they went to so much effort to protect him in the hospital after he returned. Jiraiya took the night shift while Tsunade looked over him in the day when she could. At least on the training mission, he would be in good hands.

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Naruto exited his room and went down the hall to the nurse's station. He signed his release papers silently and wandered down the corridor until he found the room he was looking for. The blonde opened the door gently and stepped inside. In the far corner was Shikamaru staring at the ceiling out of boredom. The pineapple head looked over at Naruto and stood up form his chair.

"Hey, Naruto, how are you feeling?"

"Fine. I just got released, so I'm about to pack up."

"Why?"

"I'm going away for a while. I need to do some stuff is all..."

"Oh..."

"Hey Naruto," Chouji voiced from his bed. "Sorry about the mission, man."

"Don't be. We all gave it our best. You held off a highly ranked Oto-nin on your own. That's impressive."

"From what Shikamaru here was telling me, you took on one yourself."

"Yeah..." Naruto said while concealing a mild blush. He couldn't forget that afternoon if he wanted to, not that he did.

"So, why are you here?" Shikamaru questioned while looking at the window.

"I just wanted to check up on you guys and see how the rest of you were."

Shikamaru focused back on Naruto, "Chouji used some of his family's secret medicine and defeated that Jirobou guy. But the side effects nearly made his heart collapse. Neji nearly died fighting that spider-like one, but he's fine now. Kiba and Akamaru are okay, but the damage would have much more severe had the Suna-nin not shown up in time. From what I can tell, Lee seems to be fine because of Gaara's assistance. So that only leaves you. And you said you were fine. So I guess we did well, despite the fact that we failed the mission. But we all lived to fight another day, so it's not all bad. It was just a really troublesome mission to be assigned. It was my first one as the leader, but I prefer knowing that all of my comrades are safe. Right?"

"Yeah," both Naruto and Chouji replied. Shikamaru may be a lazy bastard, but he's a dependable guy to have on your side.

"Okay, I'm glad everyone's healthy, for the most part. I have some packing to take care of, so I'll see you guys when I get back, see ya." After several moments of silence, Naruto turned to leave.

The other two bade farewell and then watched as the blonde left. Naruto exited from the room and outside the hospital.

Naruto walked down the street, admiring the pink sky in the distance. It was twilight, his favorite time of day. He watched the clouds stretched out over the horizon lackadaisically. Times like this always let him understand why Shikamaru loved just looking at the white puffs all day. It was truly a relaxing sight to see. Next he headed over to Sakura's house. He wanted to talk to her about the mission and to say goodbye.

He strolled up to her doorstep just as the sun vanished from the sky, casting a deep shadow over the landscape. He knocked softly and was relieved when it was his teammate to answer instead of her parents.

"Hi Sakura-chan. I just wanted to come by and say that I'm sorry for not...you know..." He trailed off and looked at his feet. The pink haired kunoichi in front of him stood silent, waiting.

Finally he found the right words to say. "I also wanted to tell you...that I'm leaving for a while. I'm going to go wi–" Naruto was cut off as a certain girl's hand found its way to his face. "Sakura-chan...?" He looked confused, the pain from the slap evident in his eyes.

On her face was the look of someone you didn't want to piss off. Sakura balled her fist up and socked him over the head next, but he still stood there. "How dare you! You are the reason Sasuke-kun left! You're the reason! And now you're leaving too! FINE! THEN GO! Just leave and never come back! You lied Naruto, you said you never break your promises! But you didn't bring him back! Why not!? I know that you're weaker than him, but you at least had a chance! You said that it was 'a promise of a lifetime'! You told me that you would bring him back to me! But you couldn't even do a simple task, could you! Your team nearly died because of you, Naruto! Are you proud of yourself, are you!? Just go! NOW!"

She slammed the door in his face. And left him all alone, again. He stood there, dumbstruck at what she said. 'It...it's...it's all true...I said I never break my promises...I said that I would bring Sasuke back to her...but I didn't...I failed...I broke my Nindo...'

All the while the Kyuubi stayed quiet. He never offered consolation. He didn't try to help him through it. He never did anything except help him fight. But now wasn't the time to fight. It was time to let his container experience even more pain and suffering.

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Jiraiya arrived early at the northern gate. Behind him trailed Tsunade, Shizune, and Iruka, all wanting to see the young blonde off. He saw his pupil already waiting, sitting dejectedly by himself. He could tell something was wrong.

Naruto sat with his bag in his lap and his back to the wall of the village. Where his eyes were usually a vibrant and calming blue, there was nothing more than a desolate ocean of sadness. He stood when he saw everyone approaching.

Shizune started off the farewell. "Goodbye, Naruto-kun. Here." She held out a tightly wrapped bag. On the front was the Leaf symbol. "I hope this comes in handy on your journey. It's a medical pack, but I made it specifically for you so you can utilize it in battle." Shizune smiled lightly at Naruto, also sensing something off with the usually energetic lad.

"Brat, good luck." The Hokage bent lower to plant a kiss on his forehead. "Come back alive." She never was one with words...

"Naruto, good luck. I'll treat you to all the ramen you can eat when you get back," Iruka said warmly. But not even this bribe could change the distant look in his former pupil's eyes. They seemed to have lost...hope.

Naruto looked up at all four of the people he could call family. He fake smiled at them, but none of them fell for it. They knew the real Naruto too much to let this simple mask fool them. "I'll see you all when I get back, goodbye. Let's go Ero-sennin."

Jiraiya walked beside the short genin as they passed through the open gates. When they were a good distance away, Naruto looked back and saw "retreat" on the open gate doors. And that's exactly what he did: he retreated back into himself to hide like he had before. There was no point in letting people see your weaknesses, especially when they would just take advantage when your back was turned and betray you. He learned that once because of his 'teammate' the night before.

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Tayuya had been running for two days straight, stopping only at night to get some rest. She was planning out how she was going to kill her prey. She had narrowed it down to a genjutsu that destroyed his mind by overloading it with pain while she stabbed in the chest with a kunai to let him feel both mental and physical pain to a degree that made your blood run cold by simply thinking of it. Or she could constantly kick him in the balls until he died from the agonizing pain that was sure to follow. Although the latter sounded all the more amusing, it required that she subdue him first while the former was so powerful that she doubted he could escape even with the red chakra he had used before. The only downside was that it was time consuming. And Tayuya wasn't a very patient person.

She crossed the border to the Land of Fire some time ago and was now setting her sights on Konohagakure no Sato. She prayed that the blonde idiot hadn't left for his training yet, it would make hunting him down all the more easier. But then again it wasn't the best idea to kill a village's ninja inside of a village of even more powerful ninja that were sure to deal out punishment swiftly.

While she was in Otogakure, Tayuya had read the reports concerning Uzumaki Naruto. Sasuke hadn't given her too much information on him so she had to actually study the little bastard first. From what the Otokage's information said, he was a Jinchuuriki. He held the most powerful bijuu. But he was embarrassingly inexperienced at controlling its chakra. She was beginning to wonder if what happened in the forest was just a fluke. It was shameful the way she fell victim to his...attack. Although she had to admit it was a very pleasurable attack. Even if he had defiled her body in the process.

Now that she thought about it more, the ball smashing technique sounded the best.

---

A/N: I rewrote a lot of the finer details compared to the manga, I know. But I did it to show more character development. Besides, what's the point of reading the same lines twice? It's just redundant after a while... Anyway, this is the first update in a really long while, but do take note that I have improved my updating speeds drastically. My other fic is updated at least once a week nowadays and I hope to be able to do the same for this one. In all honestly, I was lazy about adding more to this story. I could have left it at a one-shot and be done with it, but I saw how many Story Alert , I had so I felt compelled to do something extra.

It was just the other day though that I decided how I want this fic to go. I have some huge plans with it, and I hope I can make it into a good story. I hope you all enjoy the story and thanks for reading.


	3. Reunion

A/N: Sorry for taking so long for another update...at least it didn't take as long as the last one... I recently started a new story, **Uzumaki Naruto: Master of the Elements.** Check it out if you're interested. I'll try to spend my time equally writing for each of my three stories from now on. And as always: read, review, enjoy.

**Reunion**

Tayuya stepped away from the writhing body of a man whom she had just 'extracted' information from. It was surprising how easily someone's mental wall could be broken from a simple genjutsu...

From what intel she could get out of the Chuunin, her target had left several days prior, heading north. At least it gave her a start.

She walked away from the titanic walls that surrounded Konohagakure no Sato and ran as fast as possible as the sun set on her left into the purple horizon.

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Sakura woke up early and dressed in her usual red outfit. She ignored the picture of her team that lay by her dresser. It brought back too many bad memories of being left behind by her precious Sasuke. The pink haired kunoichi stared at the dirt road as she left her family's home and headed towards her usual training grounds.

The Hokage had given all of the remaining members of Team Seven a week or so to recuperate after what happened. Sakura figured that she had been inside her room crying too much recently and needed to get out of the house.

The girl was midway through with her shuriken training when her usually tardy sensei arrived on the clearing, orange book of porn in hand. She jumped slightly at the intrusion but settled down a second later.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei. How are you doing...?"

Said man looked up from his novel and stared at his female student for a while. He played along, "Fine." Several seconds passed in which both nins were silent. Suddenly, Kakashi spoke, "I always thought Sasuke had the most potential...I just hoped he would be able to grow up and look past his quest for vengeance..." His eye darted back to the text after that.

"Hey, sensei...have you seen Naruto...? I've been meaning to apologize to him...I said some stuff that I didn't mean..."

"Didn't he tell you? He left on a training mission with Jiraiya-sama."

"He was serious about that!? I...thought he wouldn't leave...not like that..."

"Naruto was really hurt how he was abandoned, Sakura. To him, he lost a brother when Sasuke left. It was the closest thing he's ever had to a real friend. You need to see where he's coming from about this."

"..." Sakura stayed silent, trying to recall all she knew about him. Naruto was alone, with no one to tell him what to do. To any kid her age with overbearing parents, it seemed like a dream come true. At least, that's what she used to think. To him, it was like living through hell everyday with no one to love or care for you. How a single child managed to do that was unreal to her. She felt a strong pang of sadness in her heart knowing that she was responsible for adding more to his grief.

"I just came by to see how you're doing. Since we technically have only two people on our team for the time being, Hokage-sama decided to start sending me on solo missions again. She said something about a new training program for any shinobi with excellent chakra control if you're interested... It might be good for you to keep yourself busy for a while."

Sakura nodded her head, taking in maybe one third of what she just heard from her sensei. She'd look into it later when she could sit down and think.

"I'll see you around, Sakura." He waited for a moment before disappearing in a cloud of white smoke.

"Bye, Kakashi-sensei..." The young kunoichi went back to tossing shuriken half heartedly at a training post, all the while thinking about her two teammates...

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jiraiya spared a glance towards his pupil. The boy was actually depressing to look at. His eyes no longer carried the glow of determination or confidence. His expression was weaker, displaying a lack of interest. His hair was covering his eyes, most likely to avoid looking at him. All in all, Naruto seemed completely different compared to when the two of them left Konoha.

In the distance, perhaps a mile or so away, sat a small village atop a hillside. 'Shuusoku's a decent town. It'll probably be best to rest and give him something to do. This trip is supposed to help make him stronger after all... Yeah, that's best. He still needs to work on his basics, namely chakra control...'

Once both the Konoha-nin entered the town and walked in front of a hotel, Jiraiya spoke. "We're going to spend some time here. My contacts in Kumo aren't expecting us for a while. That gives us some time to train. We've been traveling for the last six or seven days, so it's time to rest at a decent stop. After a while, we'll leave, okay?"

Jiraiya looked down at Naruto, expecting some type of visual reaction. Naruto kept his face down but nodded in acceptance.

They both entered the hotel quietly. Jiraiya paid for a room with two beds while Naruto stared out the window, a blank expression on his features. Both males unpacked their bags silently. Jiraiya was busy trying to figure out just what it was that kept Naruto so damn depressed. He knew what losing a friend felt like, he had gone through the same thing years before. If that's what was keeping him like this, then he knew what needed to be done.

"Naruto, what's wrong. I'm not spending all my time with some emo-wannabe just so you can get stronger. Now spill it."

Naruto looked up from his bags, eying his teacher. After several unbelievably long minutes of silence, he replied softly, "I failed my mission."

"I know that's tough, but it happens. It's part of a ninja life. It happens to the best of us."

"That's not all. I...I failed my teammate. I failed my friends. I failed my village. I-I-I..." Naruto lowered his head in shame, inadvertently recalling the memories and pain his 'friend' had caused him.

"Naruto... I know where you're coming from..."

The younger blonde raised his eyes to look at his sensei, confusion obvious in his expression. "What...?"

"Long ago, the same thing happened to me. My teammates were Tsunade and Orochimaru. Sarutobi-sensei raised us to be the greatest team we could. He demanded much of us, but together we pulled through. I thought everything was perfect. I had good friends and a caring sensei. And then things got better when I became a Jounin and was allowed to take my own team. I took a group of Genin under my wing and raised them through the ranks. Those were some of the best times in my life. But when Sarutobi-sensei picked the Yondaime Hokage, he chose one of my students over his own. He said that "the Will of Fire burns brightly in Minato, he will become our best Hokage yet." I of course was thrilled to know that I helped craft a Hokage...but also upset because it meant that my best friend could no longer fulfill his dream. When he defected...I thought that I was trapped in a horrible nightmare. It was unimaginable that my friend and teammate that I had known since childhood would abandon everything just for power. But that is life, Naruto. Things happen. Bad things. The most we ninja can do is take it head on and hope to be able to move on. If not, we get lost in the tides of sorrow and the false reality of carrying out a vendetta. Naruto, no matter what happens to you, don't become like them. Don't give in; never surrender to the pain and darkness. The moment you do, you have forfeited any respect and honor you have gained in the past. But most of all, you will have truly failed everyone. It isn't worth it. Trust me."

Naruto stared at Jiraiya slack jawed at what he just heard. On one hand, it was a relief to be able to know someone who could help him through the problems he faced. On the other, he was shocked that Jiraiya could be so serious. It certainly was unsettling. His only response was to nod dumbly.

"Good, now that that's outta the way...I saw an onsen when we walked through town. I'm going to go research. See ya later."

If it weren't for the fact that Naruto was sitting on top of his bed, he would have fallen over at that comment. Instead he resorted to slamming his palm against his forehead.

'Damn pervert...Thanks...' For the first time in a while, Naruto smiled. It was weak, but it was still a smile.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Tayuya ran outside of a large city, flute in hand. She had been investigating some information she received from her ever growing list of victims. The woman had said something about seeing an older looking man and a young blonde boy pass through several days beforehand. Now all she had to do was fine the little fucker.

The blonde was beginning to drive her crazy. Somehow he had evaded her for this long. She still had over six and a half weeks to complete her mission, but this was just annoying. There was nothing she hated more than worthless pieces of trash, but this one went so far as to make her go on a wild goose chase for this long. Oh how she would relish killing him.

Tayuya sighed to herself, forcing her anger to subside. The last thing she wanted was to be taken off guard because of her emotions... She pulled out a small scroll and unfurled it. Inside was a map of the surrounding area. Most of it was empty space with the occasional lodge or something. She doubted they would stop someplace like that. She looked carefully at the route she had taken, hitting every major town or village along the way.

She was getting closer. She just knew it. Maybe the next place would help her some. Some place named Shuusoku or whatever...

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto let his eyes rest while his body soaked in the hot water of the onsen. Next to him was a fully grown man giggling like a school girl. Naruto shifted his weight and brought his arms up above the water level. He examined his hands. Both palms were burned from severe chakra usage. Even flexing the muscles in his arms made the flesh hurt more.

Jiraiya let loose another burst of perverted giggles.

The two had been staying in the tourist town for about a week. While the town was nice and peaceful, many residents were slightly on edge because of the presence of the two ninjas. While it wasn't uncommon for a shinobi to stay in a civilian town every once in a while whilst on a mission, the people knew that trouble usually followed those who stayed too long, even if their town was in the heart of the Land of Fire. At least here they didn't glare at him or belittle his very existence. The most they did was get a little uneasy when he walked into town covered in scratches and torn clothes. He had been training really hard recently after all.

Speaking of which, Jiraiya had _only_ been teaching chakra control. That was it! There were no badass jutsus. No new taijutsu styles. Nothing more than chakra control. And quite frankly, he was tired of it. Who wouldn't be? That was like...Academy crap. He was Uzumaki Naruto, the most awesome ninja ever. Damn a huge ego felt good...

"Oi! Ero-sennin!" Naruto's voice was loud and obvious. Just the thing to force a pervert from continuing his lecherous deeds.

"Kid..." Jiraiya turned around to face his charge, "if you enjoy being able to talk, I'd suggest that you shut the hell up. I'm working right now. It just so happens that this book series is what's paying for this little training trip. So, if you don't mind keeping your voice down so that the lovely women on the other side of this wall here don't start wondering just why in Kami's name someone is being called a 'perverted hermit' just a few feet away from them, I'd appreciate it."

"Yeah, well...I'd appreciate you teaching me something cool for once. The only thing I've been doing is chakra control! It's so...boring!"

"Brat, I taught you Rasengan! The number of people who know that can be counted on one hand. Do you understand just how amazing that jutsu is?"

"That was like two months ago. I meant something on _this_ trip. I wanna learn something awesome."

"You have piss-poor chakra control. I told you, master the Rasengan one handed, _then _I'll teach you something. Now then... shut up! I need to work..." The white haired Sannin returned to peeking through an eye sized hole in the wooden fence that divided the male and female sides of the onsen.

Naruto grumbled something about old men and perversion before focusing on his chakra. Then he realized his hands hurt less in the hot water. And since there was no one else in the men's onsen, he decided to train some. He held his palm flat, just under the surface of the water. With a deep breath, Naruto began to form a weak sphere of energy in his hand. The Rasengan was far from perfect. It had maybe 1/10 of the power of one made with his Kage Bunshin, but it was an improvement. At least he had the shape down. The ball fluctuated, but only slightly. Small ripples coursed over the surface of the water and Naruto's wounds began hurting again. But he kept pushing his chakra into his Rasengan. At this point, the energy was causing more prominent waves to move inwards, not unlike a small whirlpool. Naruto kept adding more power to his jutsu, trying to keep it stable. After five minutes of constantly maintaining his sphere of energy, Naruto forced more than enough chakra into it. Big mistake. Suddenly the ball exploded under the water.

Now for the last few moments, Jiraiya could tell that his student had made a mistake. And he was honestly going to tell him so, but when the brunette began a splashing fight with the large chested blonde in the next area, Jiraiya couldn't tear his eye away from that hole. But his shinobi senses kicked back in just when the chakra levels reached a dangerous point for his young pupil. He knew what would happen. It would most likely blow up and cause a scene. He couldn't have been more right.

When Naruto's Rasengan caused a loud, hollow explosion of water, the girls in the adjacent onsen began to freak out. They all jumped up and began rushing for their towels, which of course meant streaking to the building. All at once.

At that one moment, Jiraiya had never been so proud of his pupil.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto lay on the grass spread eagle. His arms hurt, his fingers burned, and his legs felt heavy. Chakra exhaustion. It was one of the most dangerous parts of training. It had something to do with overusing the body's available energies or something. All Naruto knew was that it was painful. And bad. He sometimes wished he had paid more attention to the lectures at the Academy. Sometimes those bits of info really came in handy in combat and such.

Naruto closed his eyes, trying not to think about the burning in his extremities. The wind picked up, pulling a little leaf over the ground in a lackadaisical fashion. It fluttered in the wind before landing on the blonde's forehead. The leaf sat there, on his face before being pulled away from its rest. It drifted down over his opened jacket and across the tight black shirt that was soaking with sweat. Spring had to be one of the best times of the year.

In the distance a tree rustled, scattering a plethora of various green over the empty clearing. To his south something barely audible rang out in the atmosphere. It sounded familiar. Like a stick breaking under the weight of someone's foot. Naruto's eyes shot open. His hand clutched at his gray bag that rested to his right. With the flick of a finger, two kunai spilled into his hand.

Naruto jumped up, ignoring the protest his body gave at the imperious movement. Both kunai sat in his hand. One blade was sticking straight up, the other pointing to the ground. Once more the wind picked up. Something moved again, this time very subtly. Naruto tensed, waiting for the mysterious figure to move so that he could accurately tell its location. It wasn't wise to haphazardly hurl kunai into the brush. He learned that after going through three sets of weapons a month during his early genin months. Those things got to be damn expensive after a while.

An eerie sound filled the clearing the second the wind stopped. It sounded familiar. Very familiar. Naruto threw one kunai into the brush, hoping to end the miserable tune. But it was too late. The sky grew darker and the clouds disappeared. Naruto fell onto the grass, his arms and legs bound. He tried pulling free but it was futile. The wire that held him in place cut deeply into his skin letting blood ooze through the cuts in his jacket. "Damn it...this is like... _her_ jutsu. NO!" Naruto's expression changed drastically at the realization.

'You gotta help me, Kyuubi. Give me some chakra! Anything. I can't break this type of genjutsu. Do something.'

"**So you got yourself trapped again, huh? Are you at least gonna fuck her again if I help you?"**

'You've got to be kidding me! I'm being held hostage, moments away from my death and you are only concerned with me getting laid... HELP ME GODDAMMIT!'

"**My aren't we the angry one today. Not that I can I blame her though, you technically did rape her..."**

'I didn't want to. You fucked with my head. One minute I'm fighting her, the next I'm straddling her and clawing at her clothes. You made me rape her.'

"**I merely made your more...animalistic qualities more dominant... Inside you know you liked it. You did let her live after all."**

'I don't have time for this, give me the damn chakra!'

The fox consented, allowing his malevolent energy to overtake the boy. And just like before, the genjutsu was broken. Naruto stood, no longer feeling any pain coursing throughout his limbs and turned to stare at the tree.

"Why don't you die already!? I mean for Kami's sake, just once let that attack work...!" Tayuya screamed as she dropped to the ground several meters away from Naruto. "But that doesn't matter now. You will pay for what you did to me you fucking prick! You'll pay for raping me like that! I swear it! YOU WILL DIE!" The redhead brought her weapon of sound to her lips, casting another dreadful melody in the clearing. This one just promised pain. Naruto could just tell.

Naruto bent lower, allowing the Kyuubi's chakra to accumulate in his legs. He needed to escape the range of that jutsu. Or at least drown out that sound. He jumped a good fifty feet in the air before unleashing a barrage of kunai down at his opponent. The girl didn't move. Instead she looked up and smirked. When the kunai passed right through her, Naruto began to panic. He was already in a genjutsu.

Around him three large demon like monsters appeared, ready to strike the young blonde. He was trapped in the air. The was nothing he could do. So he brought in his arms to block the blow he was sure was about to hit him. Instead, the area around him fazed out of existence.

"Naruto, stay right there."

Said boy merely looked around for the origin of the stern voice. He found it: Jiraiya. The Sannin was staring across the field at Tayuya. She was sprawled out on the ground, lying very still.

" Are you okay?"

"Yeah...I think so... What happened?"

"She jumped you. I felt _that_ chakra flare up and came as quickly as I could. She's pretty good, entrapping your mind inside two genjutsus consecutively like that.. I'm guessing one was a distraction to get you caught up in the second," Jiraiya replied while keeping his focus squarely on Tayuya. "Maybe only keeping the Kyuubi's chakra at a constant high keeps back genjutsu..."

"What do you mean?"

"From what I've seen, your chakra spikes when you call upon more of your secondary chakra. When that happens, it almost immediately stabilizes to a more manageable level. But given enough chakra, and any genjutsu can be broken. I guess once you reach that point, only the initial rush can deactivate it. She's pretty smart to have figured that out." Jiraiya glanced back at Naruto before heading over to the fallen form of Tayuya. "Now the question is: why is there only one opponent? From what I know about Otogakure, they send teams of four and five ninjas. Only their higher ups handle missions single handedly. But she...she can't be more than Chunnin. Albeit a highly skilled Chunnin, but still."

"I've fought her before. She specializes in genjutsu. She also fights long range and tries to stay away from close combat. Y-you didn't kill her, did you?"

"No...I just disabled her with a pressure point. At the very least she can give us some intel about Oto. She does look familiar though."

"She's the one I fought before...before I fought Sasuke."

"No, that's not it. I think she's part of Orochimaru's Sound Four or something. I could have sworn I saw her at the Chuunin exams... Something's not right here." Jiraiya knelt down and pulled one of his scroll pockets. He opened one and wrote something in a small font in the center of the diagram. Out popped two pieces of what looked like rope.

"What's that?"

"A type of chakra binding seal. If she wakes up, it'll zap away her chakra," he said while tying up her ankles and wrists. "It's probably not best to head back into town with a bound girl... I think there's a cave just north of here. Get your stuff, we're leaving."

"What about her?"

Jiraiya hoisted the Oto-nin over his shoulder. "I have some questions I'd like answered."

---

A/N: Anyway, I was told in a review that I overdid it with the whole Sakura thing... Well, you have to take into account that Sakura is twelve years old. She thinks that she loves Sasuke and then is told that Naruto would also be leaving. That would piss her off a bit. Besides, she normally mentally attacks Naruto, never to that degree, but still. She doubted he was serious, and she needed to vent her anger. It was just a little outburst to her. She didn't mean it...much. Sorry about that, it's just difficult for me to capture the anger from a hormonal preteen kunoichi...

So, how did you like this chapter? Let me know in a review, and if you have any questions, ask. Oh, and sorry for it being a bit slow. I had some serious writer's block on this chapter but soon I'll be back on track as to where I want this story to go. It's going to be different...


End file.
